According to information provided by the Prima Group to operators, the new sports channel Prima Sport is due to begin broadcasting on Monday 17 August. This date is as yet unconfirmed; Prima intends to announce it officially at its press conference on the autumn schedule in early August. According to MediaGuru.cz, Prima Sport aims to combine live sports coverage, regular news bulletins, themed magazines and digital content into a single, integrated ecosystem. In addition to premium sports rights, the channel will also offer its own productions, podcasts and a wide variety of short-form content for social media. According to our information, the new channel is set to be created through a merger with the existing Sporty TV channel. With this move, Prima would immediately gain not only broadcasting rights but also an established team and technical infrastructure.
As for ice hockey, fans can look forward to matches from the Maxa League, which is the second-highest domestic competition with regional support.
For football fans, there will be the domestic Chance National League, complemented by regular broadcasts from the rapidly growing Polish league.
In terms of team indoor sports, the channel will offer the top Czech men’s and women’s competitions in floorball and volleyball. The range of ball sports will be expanded to include basketball.
Beach volleyball and motorsport
During the summer months, the volleyball coverage will be complemented by the Elite 16 world beach volleyball series and the Nations League international team competition. Motorsport will also feature prominently in the schedule, represented by traditional rallying, Truck Racing, autocross and motocross.
Among winter sports, the Ski Classics long-distance cross-country skiing series will feature, bringing together the world’s most famous ski marathons. For younger audiences, there will be e-sports broadcasts combining the world of gaming with modern technology.
Further opportunities for advertisers
The new channel will offeradvertisersround-the-clock exposure for their brands. Partners will thus gain regular and repeated contact with viewers from the early morning right through to the evening’s live broadcasts. Thanks to its sports portfolio, several commercial opportunities are opening up across the entire programme schedule. Companies can utilise traditional programme and channel sponsorship or integrate their products through product placement. Brands can also feature through branding directly in the studios or as partners of individual television segments.
Another advantage is direct integration into digital content, which forms an integral part of these partnerships. This approach is designed to deliver media reach to clients across various communication channels. The content – and with it the advertising messages – will appear not only on traditional television broadcasts but also, for example, on HbbTV. Media support will also be provided by the CNN Prima News website, YouTube and social media. Specialised podcasts will also feature.
Prima Sport ideally as part of the basic package
FTV Prima holds the licence for the Prima Sport channel for both terrestrial and online broadcasting. The editorial team at MediaGuru.cz anticipates that FTV Prima will want to bring its new sports channel to as many viewers as possible. In such cases, it is usually advantageous to include the channel in the basic package rather than in higher-tier packages. In recent years, for example, we have seen Nova and Prima featured in the top positions on the SledováníTV service, whilst Czech Television’s programmes only start from channel 18.
If an operator were to include Prima Sport in the basic package, it would secure a more favourable price than one that places it in a higher-tier package – although in absolute terms, this could amount to just a few crowns per month for each TV subscriber. The broadcaster thus ensures the widest possible availability of the channel across the market. Pay-TV distributors may, in accordance with the stipulated conditions, decide on the exact positioning of the channel within their channel line-ups.
Source: mediaguru.cz